Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
The castle consists of a main rectangular block and a tall square tower adjacent to it. The façade is embellished with a large blind ogival archivolt: a rather unusual motif in the Lombardy area. The restoration intervention of the early 1900s has certainly changed many details, and perhaps excessively regularized the masonry. The castle's construction dates back to the 11th century, commissioned by the Malaspina family. It stands atop a hill 350 meters above sea level and controls the entrance to the Staffora stream valley, which flows 150 meters below. Around 1360, it was strengthened by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who immediately recognized its strategic position. In 1613, it passed to the Mezzabarba family, counts of Pavia, who transformed its layout, converting it from a fortress to a manor. In 1712, the building was sold to the Rovereto marquises, the current owners, who transformed it into a residential building. It was then restored in 1905, according to the stylistic criteria then in vogue.
The castle consists of a main rectangular block and a tall square tower adjacent to it. The façade is embellished with a large blind ogival archivolt: a rather unusual motif in the Lombardy area. The restoration intervention of the early 1900s has certainly changed many details, and perhaps excessively regularized the masonry. The castle's construction dates back to the 11th century, commissioned by the Malaspina family. It stands atop a hill 350 meters above sea level and controls the entrance to the Staffora stream valley, which flows 150 meters below. Around 1360, it was strengthened by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who immediately recognized its strategic position. In 1613, it passed to the Mezzabarba family, counts of Pavia, who transformed its layout, converting it from a fortress to a manor. In 1712, the building was sold to the Rovereto marquises, the current owners, who transformed it into a residential building. It was then restored in 1905, according to the stylistic criteria then in vogue.
